EDITORIAL: Stand strong against racism in our communities

Thursday

Sep 14, 2017 at 3:01 AM

We’re confident that none of our readers think a 7-year-old biracial boy riding a school bus should suffer racial taunts from a classmate while being pushed into the window and struck repeatedly with a baseball.

We’re confident our readers agree that people of all races, creeds, colors and sexual orientation should feel physically safe and possess equal rights and opportunities as they pursue post-secondary education at the University of New Hampshire.

We’re confident that our readers are sickened by allegations that teens in Claremont put a rope around the neck of a biracial 8-year-old boy and pushed him off a picnic table, injuring him so badly he needed to be med-flighted to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

As Granite Staters digest these latest allegations of racial prejudice, we urge responsible adults in our communities to support full, fact-based and transparent investigations to find out exactly what happened, to support the children, young adults and families who say they have been targeted by hatred and to be part of the solution through dialogue, outreach and demonstrations of support.

We further urge responsible adults not to engage in finger pointing, name calling and victim blaming. We’re honestly disgusted by some of the hateful comments we have seen on Facebook in response to these stories. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of those who have been hurt and do everything we can to let them know that our communities welcome them with open hearts, open arms and open minds.

Our nation’s struggle with race and racism go back to its founding. In Article 1, the framers of the U.S. Constitution exclude “Indians not taxed” and count slaves as “three fifths” of a person when counting population to determine the number of congressional representatives. In Charlottesville, Virginia, this year, more than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, we had neo-Nazis and white supremacists marching with torches to protest the removal of a statue honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Following that violent clash, the nation once again heatedly debated how we should view our racist history.

We struggle, we make progress, we fall backwards and then the struggle continues. The more honestly we struggle, the more likely we are to make progress.

After a faltering start, the University of New Hampshire has made progress through dialogues around racial issues on campus and by responding respectfully to demands presented by the Black Student Union.

Oyster River Cooperative School District Superintendent James Morse came out with a strong statement in response to allegations of racially motivated incidents in his district. He also referred the matter to the Durham Police Department, “to conduct its own investigation of the facts and circumstances.” We’re glad the school district is making the video of the incident available to investigators and the student’s family.

It is encouraging that Gov. Chris Sununu and Attorney General Gordon MacDonald have brought the full weight of their offices to bear on the incident in Claremont. “To the extent that there is any credible information that this incident constituted a hate crime or a civil rights violation under New Hampshire law, the Office is prepared to take any and all appropriate action,” MacDonald said in a press release.

Seacoast NAACP President Rogers Johnson has clearly gained the confidence of those who have been targeted because of race and is doing a good job bringing acts of prejudice to the public’s attention.

“We will be here tomorrow and for as long as it takes until there is no longer racial bigotry and intolerance on this campus, you have my word,” Johnson said Monday at a UNH dialogue on race.

Despite the best efforts of people of good will, racism and religious intolerance continue to lurk in the shadows of our communities. When that intolerance moves out of the shadows, people of good will must stand firmly against it and refuse to allow it to spread.

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